I agree with Pat. Its best to put the crate in the bedroom where you sleep. It helps if the puppy can see you so they feel safe. In the old days, we used to use a windup alarm clock because the rhythmic ticking reminds the puppy of the mothers heart beat. Of course you do not want to put it in the kennel/crate, but you can put it on top or next to it so the puppy hears the sound. You might be surprised, but another thing that can work is music. I do not mean rock and roll (lol), but soothing soft music can help. You want to make sure the bottom of the crate, towel, pad, or whatever is on the bottom remains dry. A wet cushion, towel, or bottom of crate can put a basenji puppy in distress and will eventually cause them to scream. They do not want to be trapped in the crate if they have an accident.
Peeing in the crate at night
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Our female Basenji, Tori is house trained during the day but every night she pees in her crate. We got her when she was 8 weeks old and would put a towel in the crate just to keep her warmer. Now that she is 10 1/2 months old, she still pees in the crate during the night. We suspect that she pees upon waking or when she hears someone before they can get to her. We tried taking the towel out of the crate, thinking that she has been conditioned to pee on the towel, but the crate still smells like pee in the morning even though there is not a puddle in the crate. Where does the pee go? Tori does not smell at all of pee, but she definitely does go in her crate at night. Does anyone have any idea how we can break this habit? She usually is out by 9pm for the last time at night and then is up sometime between 4 and 6 depending on the day of the week. Any help would be appreciated.
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I would try to take her out just before bedtime, and make sure she is not drinking any water after 6:00. Good Luck!
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And make sure you clean the crate COMPLETELY EVERY day. You need to eliminate any urine odors that may be encouraging her to think that is an appropriate place to urinate.
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And make sure that when you take her out for the last time at night she actually goes…you have to see it for yourself
My guess is that something is waking her up, and then she has to go. She still might not be able to hold it seven hours...but she will in time. One of my dogs did this during her first year, and we just changed the bedding and cleaned up the crate. She grew out of it, and now is one of the VERY cleanest dogs ever.
I don't know that I would restrict her water as early as 6pm...but I might take water out of her crate if she has access to it overnight. 12 hours is a long time to go without water, IMO.
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I never take my B's water up, but then she holds her urine until morning when sleeping at night. I was just offering this b/c her B can't seem to hold his, I would take it up maybe a little later depending on bed time.
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I have had this problem with Zahra. I don't know if it is because she came from the pet store where she could be in her kennel and it was no big deal.
Anyway, I have found that if I made the crate smaller, just big enough for her to turn around in that it stopped her from doing it. When she had full access to the crate she would pee on one side and then sleep on the other.
Hope this helps.
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Cindy, some Basenjis just seem to do this - you can hope she'll grow out of it…. I do agree, one thing is to make certain you thoroughly clean the crate; we use Nature's Miracle. We have one girl who will still pee in her crate at age 6 - usually when she wakes up early and doesn't get to go out right away. She was raised the same way as her 4 brothers, none of them will pee in the crate. But then, we also have carpet pieces in her daytime run area and those are her first choice of a place to pee even outside! We don't restrict water, but we do make sure she goes just before bedtime.
Terry
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I notice having a smaller crate keeps Cali from relieving herself in her crate. Sometimes she sleeps in my bed at night, but when she sleeps in her crate I notice that she holds it longer. l do not let her have anything to drink after 8pm and her crate is just big enough for her to lay down with not much extra room. I take her out one last time at about 10pm and she holds it until 6 or 7 in the morning.
tlbuddy -
Thanks for all the advice. On Saturday night, due to some miscommunication, Tori was left out of her crate during the night. She did not pee anywhere in the house. We have since left her out for two more nights and she has either slept in a chair, on the heat register or in her open crate. It is interesting to note that when she slept in her open crate, she did not pee during the night. If this solves our night time peeing problem, and she does not tear up the house, I think we will keep letting her stay out of her crate during the night. Yesterday, I had to crate her during the day while I was at work for about 7 hours and when I came home, she had peed in the crate so she must think that it is okay to go in a locked crate. We will definitely try the Nature's Miracle and clean it completely to see if it makes a difference. It just gets so gross and smelly, I hate to see her in a crate when it is like this. Thanks again. Cindy
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Yesterday, I had to crate her during the day while I was at work for about 7 hours and when I came home, she had peed in the crate so she must think that it is okay to go in a locked crate.
being locked in may be causing her some anxiety. if leaving the door open solves the problem, and she's not destructive, I say go for it!
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Mine did the same thing - and still will on occasion, I'm sorry to say (she'll be 8 in December). I never wanted to run the risk of leaving her out, though. I use Simple Solution to clean her crate, etc. and it definitely takes away the odor. I also go to Wal-mart and buy scraps of fleece from the sewing area and line her crate with that. That way, I can wash it and toss it when it gets yucky, with very little expense. I hope this helps.
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I was always told that 7 hours is a long time for a dog not to pee, especially if it has been drinking water.:eek: I solved this problem myself by getting underground fencing, and a doggie door. Now when I am out she is free to go outside and potty. She is fully trained now, and will now go even when it is raining, wonder of wonder.:eek:
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I adopted my B and the foster parent that I picked her up from said she would pee in her crate at night if there was a blanket or any kind of bedding in there but is fine otherwise. When I adopted her we decided to leave her out at night and she also seems to be fine with that.
